The benefit of Provisional Appln. Ser. No. 61/460,706, filed Jan. 6, 2011 and entitled DOLLY FOR SUPPORTING A SPOOL CARRYING A WINDABLE MATERIAL, is hereby claimed. The disclosure of this referenced provisional patent application is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention relates generally to means and methods for supporting relatively large spools and relates, more particularly, to apparatus capable of holding a spool of windable material, such as rope, wound about the spool, for purposes of supporting the spool as the windable material is unwound from the spool or wound about the spool.
During the construction of buildings, it is known that a length of material, such as a rope, can be used to route a wire (e.g. electrical wire) along a desired path through a ceiling or wall. To this end, one end of a length of material, such as a rope, can be routed along a path along which the electrical wire is desired to be routed, and then tied to a free end of the electrical wire. By subsequently pulling upon the opposite end of the length of material, the wire is pulled free end-first along the desired path.
Heretofore, spools of rope used at jobsites for the purpose of routing wires through a building are commonly supported by way of a rod inserted endwise through the center of the spool and two individuals who are positioned at each end of the rod for holding the spool in a manner which permits the spool to rotate about the rod during a rope unwinding or winding process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for supporting a spool of material, such as a rope, for rotation about an axis which circumvents the need that the spool be manually supported during an unwinding or winding of the spool of material.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus upon which a spool of material can be loaded or unloaded with relative ease.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which is capable of supporting a spool of material having a thickness within a relatively broad range.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an apparatus which is uncomplicated in structure, yet effective in operation.